Tiger Woods (+14) has missed the cut at the Open Championship after handing in a scorecard of 77 strokes in the second round. It has not been his week by any means. Nothing has gone his way. Only his tee-off golf is salvageable, but he has not been sharp with the irons, nor with the short game, and especially not with the putter. It’s impossible to get a result like this.
Tiger does not sugarcoat his performance. “I’ve been struggling all the time. I was never close to making birdies and, therefore, I’ve made a lot of bogeys. It has not been a good week. A Major demands a lot from a mental, physical and emotional point of view and I have not been as calm as I should have been. I’ve tried to find a way to feel comfortable, but I haven’t managed to,” says the 15-time Major winner.
Having said this, Tiger is not about to give in to the pessimists and doom-mongers, those who think the best thing he could do is step aside and stop playing at this level. Woods is not going to do it. “I love the Majors and I’m going to keep playing them. I’ll be at Royal Portrush next year and I’ll be back playing in Scotland. I love their courses and the variety of golf they offer. My game is better than the recent results have shown,” he explains.
Regarding the possibility of playing more to be more competitive, Tiger assures that it is his intention, although he must find a balance between competing and being physically well. “I would have liked to have played more tournaments this year, but the priority was to improve physically and be well in the Majors, I didn’t want to jeopardise my participation in the Majors. I’ve dedicated a lot of time to the physical part and I’m happy because I feel much better. Hopefully, I can play more tournaments next year. I have to keep progressing and be more competitive,” he says.
Tiger does not dare to confirm if there will be more stops on his 2025 schedule beyond the Majors, but that is his intention. Regarding this year, he has made it clear that he will play the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, his tournament, as well as the PNC Championship of fathers and sons alongside Charlie. “Yes, we’ll be there, it’s our fifth Major,” he assures with a smile.
